Thursday, January 9, 2014

US Rushes Weapons to Iraq Crisis It Unleashed

Phyllis Bennis: 'It's like the war is starting all over again'

Iraqi Soldiers Monitor A Checkpoint East Of Baghdad On January 6, 2014 Amid an escalation of fighting in war-torn Iraq, the Obama administration announced
Monday it will accelerate the shipment of Hellfire missiles and
surveillance drones to the Nuri al-Maliki regime, a move critics charge
will only worsen the cycles of violence set in motion by the U.S.
invasion.

"The last thing Iraq needs right now is more weapons,"
said Phyllis Bennis, senior fellow at Institute for Policy Studies, in
an interview with Common Dreams.

White House press secretary Jay Carney announced
Monday that the U.S. will send the Iraqi government 48 drones later
this week and 10 surveillance drones in upcoming weeks. In addition, a
delivery of 100 Hellfire missiles will be expedited to the Iraqi
government, said Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steven Warren in a press statement released Monday.

While Secretary of State John Kerry vowed
to do "everything that is possible" to help the government fight Al
Qaida in Iraq, short of putting boots on the ground, some hardliners are
pushing for direct U.S. military involvement. In a statement
released over the weekend, Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey
Graham (R-SC) indicated that keeping U.S. troops in Iraq could have
avoided the violence.